Long before Annie paid her visit to the Berger-Lennox Centre, Banks was plowing his way through the Monday-morning rush hour traffic on his way to Peterborough. He felt numb after grappling with the demons of fear and loss most of the night, but he also felt apprehensive about what was to come. His parents doted on Roy; something like this could push his father’s heart over the edge. But he had to tell them himself; he couldn’t let the news come from some anonymous copper knocking on the door.

Brooke had gone out of his way to protect the identity of the victim from the media. As soon as Banks had told his parents, he had to ring Brooke and tell him it was done; the rest would follow. He remembered he had also promised to keep Corinne and Roy’s neighbour, Malcolm Farrow, up-to-date, but they would have to wait their turn.

After some relatively gentle questioning – very gentle, given the circumstances – Banks had handed over Roy’s mobile, the USB drive and the CD to Brooke and tried to get some sleep. The effects of the wine were fast wearing off, leaving him with a throbbing head, and sleep had refused to come. Luckily, there wasn’t much of the night left by then, and the dawn came early in June. At six o’clock, Banks was in the shower, then it was time to go pick up his car from where he had left it last night, near Waterloo Station, pick up a coffee for the road, and head for home.

…

Paperback Edition Page 184

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Check out those all important “First Lines”, … Would they make you want to read on?

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Based on these lines, it sounds like a good detective mystery. I always appreciate you including the links to any previous posts to help me place what I might have thought about a book from a different perspective. I will admit I prefer the opening lines to these.

The character of ‘Banks’ evolves during the course of this so far, 24 book series, from Detective Inspector, to Detective Chief Inspector, and now newly promoted to Detective Superintendent.

With ‘Strange Affair’ being book 15 and written back in 2005, there has been some real character building and development in author Peter Robinson’s writing, which has made ‘Banks’ one of the best loved detectives ever to leave the pages of a book and hit the small screen.

Whilst the opening lines made for an atmospheric and slightly spooky beginning to the story, the notion that a police officer might have to tell his relatives of a death in the family, must be quite an emotional thing to have to do, whilst still maintaining an air of professionalism and distance during the ongoing investigation.

First Lines

Prologue Mom always said too much chocolate is like having too much love – you can’t get enough. I couldn’t agree more. Our favourite time together was baking chocolate cupcakes in a messy kitchen, surrounded by bowls, measuring cups and lots and lots of chocolate syrup. Chocolate was never just a treat or a reward; […]

Random Quote

I am still preoccupied by character and motivation. For me, every book, regardless of genre, is an attempt to answer the question, why? All novels should surprise you. They should immerse you in a world. They may even make you look differently at the real one. So we shouldn’t make too much of the distinction between genres.